Return to Inaba
by Parsnip36
Summary: 3 years after the events of the game, the now separated gang returns to Inaba for Chie's wedding.  Souji makes an effort to rekindle his old friendships and some new relationships are pursued.  Warning for BL, so don't read if you find this objectionable.
1. Chapter 1

_02:14:37, 6/14/2015_

Souji Seta stared at his watch. _Let's see, _he thought, _if it's the middle of June, it's been almost 2 years since I've been back to Inaba._ How could that be? The town had made him happier than he had ever been in his life, despite the unfortunate events of his time there. It wasn't as if he had meant to _abandon _the place, he was just... busy.

_02:14:52, 6/14/2015_

His studies had been consuming so much of his time; it wasn't as if it was really _his _fault, right? _They'll understand. At least they'll believe that I didn't want to leave them. _But that was hardly fair, wasn't it? After all, he might have been too busy to visit, but it wasn't as if anything was stopping him from calling them every once in a while. _And it's not just me, it's not like anyone in Inaba has been putting any effort into keeping in touch. _Well, maybe that wasn't exactly true either. Nanako still called him at least once a month, and he spoke to her father at least half as often.

_02:15:43, 6/14/2015_

The truth was, simply put, Souji Seta hated long distance communication. Writing letters took too much time and effort, long phone conversations made him uncomfortable, and emailing and texing just seemed so... impersonal. He was just an old-fashioned, face-to-face kind of guy. He still remembered Yosuke teasing him about it all the time. _Dude, get with the digital age. What are you, like, 80? My grandma can text faster than you. _And then his partner would wink and smile...

_02:16:21, 6/14/2015_

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. _Stop staring at the damn watch. It's not going to make the train go any faster. _Just 14 minutes left until he would arrive in Yasoinaba station. Anxious, apprehensive, even afraid. _I didn't mean to lose touch, really I didn't! I love them all so much. Oh God, they're going to hate me. _

_Or worse, _he felt slightly sick at the thought, _maybe they forgot all about me._

Okay, that was probably going a bit far. He doubted that they would actually forget him, but he still wouldn't be the person they remembered. He'd have to get to know each of them all over again, probably never having the same relationship they once had.

Well, whatever happened, he would deal with it when they all got together. _If, _he corrected himself. _If _they all got together. As much as Souji hoped to meet with his friends from the old investigation team, he knew that a party with just the eight of them would not be feasible. After all, this wasn't a reunion. This visit was about Chie.


	2. Chapter 2

Sometime in March

Souji was vaguely aware that he hadn't been communicating with his old friends, but it didn't bother him too much as long as he kept his mind on other things. Thankfully, his studies made it very easy to distract himself from unpleasant thoughts. _Just one day left until the weekend, and then just a few months left until vacation, _he thought. Another day of learning nothing was over and he was on his way back to the dorm. Just before he reached his room, he noticed an evelope sticking out of his mailbox. Now that was unusual. Who would be writing to him? His parents? Not likely.

His stomach lurched when he noticed the return address: Inaba.

It wasn't an address he recognized. Inspecting the rest of the envelope, he noticed that his name was written in immaculately elegant handwriting. So it probably wasn't a casual letter from an old friend, he realized sadly. He carefully tore the paper open to reveal a crisp, decorative card.

* * *

Your presence is requested

at the wedding of

Mr. Kou Ichijo

to

Miss Chie Satonaka

* * *

_I had no idea, _was his first thought. True, he had known that Kou had a crush on Chie several years back, but he hadn't even known they were _together. _Since when? And how long had they been _engaged? _Surprise gave way to disappointment, which gave way to hurt. Neither of his _friends_ had even thought to call him and tell him the news? Did they think it was appropriate to find out something like this from a _copy _of the same invitation that had been send to who knows how many other people?

_When was the last time you called either of them? _And that thought hurt ten times worse than anything else. The realization that all of this was Souji's own damn fault.

* * *

_02:27:06, 6/14/2015_

"We will arrive at the Yasogami terminal in a few minutes. Passengers headed for Inaba city and Yasoinaba station, please go to the other side of the platform."

Souji leapt at the sound of the familiar robotic voice. Grabbing his luggage, he made his way to the exit, feeling the train coast to a stop. Familiar faces smiled up at him from the platform: Ryotaro and Nanako Dojima.

"Hello," he said, staring at his relatives. Moments later, he ran over to where they were standing to envelop them both in a bear hug.

"Big Bro!" Nanako called affectionately.

"It's been far too long," said Dojima. Souji agreed. "The house always feels so quiet after you leave," Dojima continued. He looked the same as Souji remembered him, although time had aged his eyes a little. Nanako, on the other hand, had grown. Her hair was longer and tied back in a single ponytail. She was taller and thinner, having lost her baby fat.

"Nanako, how old are you now?" Souji asked.

"I'm ten and a half!" she replied cheerfully. "And I'm gonna start 5th grade next year! You're still at university, right?"

Souji chuckled. "Yes, I am."

"Wow, you're so grown up," Nanako gushed. "I missed you, Big Bro!"

"Nanako's been talking about your visit for weeks. We've already set up your old room the way it was," Dojima mentioned as the group climbed into the car.

"Sounds great!" Souji said, thanking the Dojimas for their kindness. "So, umm... how's Chie?"

Dojima smiled. "She's understandably stressed out, but other than that, she's doing well. Miss Satonaka is still training to join the force, but she's taking a few months off right now." He paused for a moment to think. "I think she and Ichijo have been engaged since December. That was when she announced it, anyway."

So even his uncle had found out before he had. That was just great. "Umm... what about everyone else?"

"You mean your old group of friends?" Dojima took another moment to think while he drove. "I can't say I know very much. Shirogane went off to university, and the Amagi girl now manages the inn. I'm not really sure about the others." He must have noticed Souji's sorrowful expression. "Hey, but they should all be back in town for this, right? You'll get to see them and catch up."

Nanako talked about her friends and her school for the rest of the ride home. Souji listened with interest, but he couldn't help feeling distracted. It was easy to fall back into a familial pattern with these two, but would it be possible with the others? He had talked with the Dojimas plenty (and they were, after all, family), so it wasn't as if they had grown completely apart.

But it had been so long since he had spoken with his friends, and Souji was afraid. Inaba had brought him out of his shell and into an amazing circle of people. He looked back on his time there with fond nostalgia, wishing he could be that happy again. Maybe he never would be. What if they were angry with him? What if they hated him? After clinging to those memories for so long, how could he deal with having them torn apart?

_Distance doesn't matter to us! Even if we're separated, we're still friends!_

Souji smiled, remembering Yosuke's words as he left for the first time. True, distance didn't matter. But what about time?


	3. Chapter 3

_8:12:04, _6/15/2015

Souji opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. Even when he had been living with the Dojimas, Souji kept his room pretty bare. Literally nothing had changed. It was almost as if the last three years had never happened, that he had never left. _How should I spend my day? _he thought. _Today's a Monday, so I have drama club. Or, _he realized, _I could work the Monday shift at the daycare center. __If I remember correctly, Yosuke, Yukiko, Chie, and Naoto are usually available on Mondays. I could even hang out with Naoki, if I was desperate. _

But of course none of that would ever happen, because Souji wasn't in high school anymore. He no longer worked for the day care center. And he found it unlikely that the friends he missed so badly would want anything to do with him anymore.

He lazily rolled himself off of the futon, threw on some clothes, and dragged himself down the stairs. Nanako was already busy in the kitchen. She was making toast, by the smell of it. So little had changed.

"Good morning!" she chirped. "Do you want any toast?"

"Sure, I'd love some," said Souji. "Do you want to make it, or should I?"

"I'll do it, you're the guest!"

Five minutes later, the toast was ready, and Nanako had disappeared into her room. Souji barely had time to take a bite before he heard the doorbell ring. As he got up to answer the door, whoever it was rang two more times.

"SENPAI!" A high pitched squeal rang in his ears as a body forcefully hugged him, knocking him back.

"R-Rise?"

The girl looked up at him. "Of course it's me, silly! Oh my god, senpai, I missed you!" She was wearing her hair down, which was something Souji had never seen her do. Her makeup was also sharper and more subtle than he was used to. She would have looked ten years older if not for her girlish personality. "You haven't changed a bit!" she remarked, surveying Souji.

"You know Rise, we're not in high school anymore. You don't have to call me senpai." Souji said, smiling.

"But that's what you've always been! You can't just be 'Souji,' it sounds all wrong!"

"Thanks, it's not like that's my name or anything."

After a brief pause, the two erupted into laughter. It wasn't that something in particular was funny; just seeing an old friend again brought Souji to a giddy elation. "So what have you been up to?"

"Oh, this and that. I'm still a full-time employee at Marukyu, but I've been doing some modeling in my time off."

"That's great!" Souji paused uncomfortably. "So... have you seen much of... the old gang lately?" Rise giggled.

"Well, Inaba's not that big. I do get to see them a lot. But from what I hear, you haven't spoken to any of them in, like, years."

"Um..." Souji looked shameful. "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to lose touch! Please believe me, I didn't forget, I didn't stop caring!"

"Calm down, no one's mad," Rise insisted, smiling. "We just missed you is all."

That was a relief. "Um, so... how is everyone?" Souji asked sheepishly.

"Well, Naoto left to study at some university whose name I forget. Kanji still works at Tatsumi Textiles. They've expanded, you know. He's practically mass producing those dollies. Yukiko now manages the inn, but her parents still own the place. Yosuke's still working at Junes, but I think he plans to go to college once he saves up some money." Hearing all this brought tears to Souji's eyes as Rise rambled on and on. "Teddie still pops in every now and then, and I usually have to put him up. And Chie, of course, is getting married! Isn't it sooooooo exciting!"

"Well, sure, yeah. Of course it is." said Souji.

"You don't sound very happy."

"It's not that. I'm happy for both of them, really, I am! I just... I wish I had known earlier. I would have liked to be there to support them," Souji admitted.

"Well, senpai, it was you who left us," Rise said, a little more icily than she had intended. "Hey, I have an idea," she said, the warmth returning to her high-pitched voice. "We should all have a slumber party at the Amagi Inn, just like old times!"

"That sounds really fun, but it's the middle of the week. Everyone's probably busy, especially Chie," Souji noted sadly.

"Why don't you just relax and let me take care of it? I'll call you later. Your number is still the same, right?" she asked. Souji nodded. "All right then, bye-bye senpai!"

Nanako reentered the room just as Rise shut the door behind her. "Was that Rise-chan?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. How did you know?" Souji wondered.

"She called me and asked if you'd be in town for the wedding. I told her you'd be here!"

Souji smiled at his cousin. "Thank you, Nanako."


	4. Chapter 4

Souji sat in his room, trying to concentrate on his book. It was an old one he had bought from Yomenaido, but apparently he had never picked it up after that. It wasn't particularly interesting, but Souji could not think of anything else to do. He had thought about taking a walk or going fishing, but neither of those options seemed more interesting than the book. He had quickly ruled out going to Junes; the risk of seeing someone he knew (as well as the nostalgia factor) was too high. _And who knows what kind of shape the shopping district is in, _he thought gloomily. That visit would be depressing when it inevitably occurred.

Suddenly, his phone chirped in his pocket. Souji flipped it open, surprised to see Chie's name instead of Rise's.

"Hello?" he said weakly.

"Souji? It's Chie."

"Oh, hey," Souji responded. Well, that certainly sounded enthusiastic. But what else was there to say? After about 5 seconds of silence, he settled on "It's been a while."

"I'll say. So, um, Rise said you were in town already. I was kind of hoping that we could get the old gang together for a visit. Maybe... we could go to the Amagi Inn?" she suggested, clearly flustered.

"Chie... aren't you busy? I mean, your wedding's in a week."

"Five days," she corrected. "I know, but the preparations are getting really stressful. There's not much that I'm needed for right now, and God knows I need a break. So... please? As a favor, can't we just get together one more time? I mean, who knows when we'll get another chance?"

"Of course, I'd love to! As long as you're sure you want to," Souji added.

"I'll call the others. We can meet up at the Inn tonight; I'll text you the time when I get it figured out," said Chie.

"Great. I'll see you tonight. Oh, and... I know it's a bit late, but... congratulations."

"Thank you, Souji. I can't wait.

* * *

After a long day of waiting and playing with Nanako, Souji packed a bag and headed for the bus stop. The routes were different now than the ones he was used to, but he quickly figured them out and was on his way to the Amagi Inn. It was the first time he had actually been in public since he had come back to Inaba. He scanned the bus for people he knew. Most of them were total strangers, but there were a few that looked familiar. _That looks like the old fisherman I used to talk to, _Souji thought. _At least, I think it's him... I better not say anything, just in case I'm wrong. _His eyes landed on a kid who looked around Nanako's age. _I think he used to go to the day care center, but it's hard to tell. _And then there was a man who was sitting with his back to Souji. He could swear he knew the man from somewhere, but without seeing his face, it was difficult to recognize him. There were also couple of women who looked vaguely familiar, but Souji couldn't remember ever meeting them.

The ride passed in silence.

Finally, the driver announced that they were stopping within walking distance of the Amagi Inn. As Souji got up, the familiar man also rose and walked toward the door. _Turn around, _he thought. _I know you from somewhere, I just can't recognize you from the back. _Luckily, as the pair got off the bus, the man turned enough for Souji to see his face.

"Yosuke?"

As Yosuke Hanamura turned all the way around, Souji could see shock in his features as he recognized his old friend. "Souji? Wow, um, you surprised me," he said. Souji smiled as Yosuke gave him an awkward handshake.

"Hey, I really missed you! It's been way too long," said Souji.

"That's for sure," Yosuke replied. "It's been a while since I called, huh, partner?" Souji smiled upon hearing his old nickname. Strangely, Yosuke looked the same as Souji remembered him, and yet he looked completely different. His hair was shorter, and it might have been lighter. It was hard to say. He wore a shirt with a crisp collar, which Souji had never seen Yosuke do before. Most noticeably, he no longer carried his headphones around his neck. If Souji hadn't known him so well, he probably would never have recognized him.

"Honestly, I haven't been keeping in touch myself. I really wanted to visit, but I couldn't find the time," Souji said, allowing Yosuke to lead him down the path to the inn. As they walked and conversed, Souji began to notice bits and pieces of the old Yosuke. He still had the same disheveled hair; it was just a few centimeters shorter. He still had the habit of winking whenever he smiled. He still spoke slightly more loudly than he probably intended to.

Yosuke held the door open for Souji as they entered the inn. He made his way to the front desk to talk to the hostess.

"Souji-kun?" she asked. Wait, that was... Yukiko? She smiled. "We've been waiting for you guys."

"Yukiko! Wow, I didn't even recognize you," Souji said, hoping he hadn't sounded too rude. She had grown out her bangs and was wearing her hair up in a bun. Her pink kimono didn't flatter her the way red always had.

"I've reserved two rooms upstairs," she stated, all business. "But I think we'll probably congregate in the guys' room for a while before we bathe in the hot springs.

"Great! So, ah... who else is here?" Yosuke wondered.

"Chie and Rise are upstairs," she said, leading them up toward the rooms. "Teddie and Kanji should be here soon."

"Do you know if Naoto is coming?" Souji whispered to Yosuke.

"I'm pretty sure she won't be getting back until this weekend," he whispered back.

That was too bad. At least he would get to see the others, Chie in particular. He stopped in front of the door. _Well, this is it, _he thought. _Time to meet the bride. _

* * *

Author's Note: I promise this is going somewhere! XP Please review, because I really want to improve!


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